Dear Hunt of a Lifetime Sponsors,

          Hello, my name is TJ. I have had cancer and been onchemotherapy for the last year and a half. I would like to thank you for being so kind in sponsoring such a wonderful organization and giving me the chance to go on my hunt of a lifetime by sending me to Alaska to fish and hunt a grizzly bear. Everything about the trip was amazing. The scenery, all the different animals, fishing and mostly the hunt itself.

          Alaska was fantastic in all aspects. Everywhere I looked it looked like it could be on a postcard. On the way up there we saw Mount McKinley in Alaska. The city of Anchorage was very cool. You could see giant mountains north of the city, which was new to me because I have never seen a city that big so close to the mountains. When I was out on the hunt I couldn't turn in any direction without seeing some great scenery.

          The fishing was great. The silver salmon were running and we could walk over to the river and catch them all day long. When I went up stream hunting I would catch different fish mostly grayling. Grayling tasted great especially when you have been hunting all day long. I saw lots of different animals like bald eagles, lynx, moose, wolf, and lots of bears. It was very exciting and adrenalin pumping to see a great big 750 pound bear so close to me. It was also very exciting when I found out the bear I shot was going to make Boone & Crockett.

          Thank you for sending me on my hunt of a lifetime. I hope you keep sponsoring Hunt of a Lifetime and sending kids like me on amazing and life changing trips.

Sincerely,

TJ

Dear Hunt of a Lifetime Sponsors',

          My name is Ted and HOAL sent my two boys to Alaska hunting in August 2002. In January my wife and I were devastated to hear our doctor tell us our youngest son Aaron had Type one Juvenile Diabetes. But with the help of great doctor's and a lot of prayers we soon had things under control.

          In December 2000, the day after Christmas our doctor gave us some of the worst news any parent could ever hear. Our oldest son TJ had cancer. It was a Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and would require two full years of treatment.

          Now almost two years later, with lots and lots of prayer, the help of many great doctors, TJ is doing very well and is expected to make a full recovery. Aaron now has an insulin pump which has helped him to control his blood sugar and live a more normal life.

          TJ was told he qualified for a wish and he said he wanted to go to Alaska to hunt for a moose. He was crushed when he was told that wasn't possible and he would have to make another wish.

          Shortly after someone told me about Hunt of a Lifetime. I called and left a message. In less than one hour, Tina Pattison called me back and said she would get to work on a hunt right away, not only for TJ but Aaron too. This not only made TJ very happy but also gave him something to look forward to and helped get him through some of the bad times I think.

          On August 10th, my wife Nancy, the boys, & I headed to Koyuk, Alaska along with Larry Csonka and two camera men to hunt not only for moose, but grizzly bear and wolf with outfitter Bob Hannon. Brad Jones of South Carolina and Mr. Csonka raised the money to pay for the trip and Mr. Jones paid his own way just to come and watch.

          We flew into camp on the 13th. It was on a river with great fishing just off of Norton Bay. We stayed in wall tents for 10 days and hunted up river from there. Each boy had 2 guides who were just great. It was hard to tell who was having more fun, them or the boys.

          A moose had to be 50 inches or bigger and we never did see one big enough but on Monday the 19th Aaron shot a bear that squared 8 ft. 6 in. and is big enough to make the Boone & Crockett record book.

          On Thursday the 22nd, TJ still had not shot anything. He had passed on a small sow grizzly a few days earlier. We were flying out the next day and starting to get nervous about him getting anything when at 8:30 pm we spotted a good bear 3-4 miles away.

          It was staying light until almost midnight so TJ and one guide went after him alone. That way they could cover more ground and have less chance of being spotted. At 10:30 they had stalked to within 75 yards and TJ dropped him with one shot from a .338 Win. Mag. His bear squared 9 feet and will also make the record book.

          This truly was the hunt of a lifetime, and one that we will never forget.

Thank you and God Bless,

Ted